Robert Grady Head
Robert Grady Head, 83, long term resident of Lewisburg and owner of the Bookstore, passed away Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Robert was born on January 7, 1942, in Memphis, TN. He was the son of the late Robert Grady Head Sr. and Nell Louise Langham.
Robert was a poet, playwright, artist, sculptor, linguist, and bookstore owner. He grew up on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and in New Orleans, LA. After studying for a year at Oberlin College, he left to join the Merchant Marines. He studied theater at Tulane University and old English at University College Dublin, where he met his life companion, Darlene Fife. Feeling compelled to protest the Vietnam War, he and Darlene left Dublin for New Orleans, where they published the longest running underground newspaper in the South, the NOLA Express, until the early 1970s.
Robert and Darlene left New Orleans to homestead on 112 acres in the mountains outside of Lewisburg, which they recently transferred to the West Virginia Land Trust for conservation. Robert owned and operated the Bookstore, and he finished his college degree at Bluefield State University. He was a prodigious poet and was writing poetry until the end of his life. He and Darlene, together, studied Greek and Coptic and translated and published Modern Greek poetry.
Survivors include his companion, Darlene Fife of Lewisburg; siblings, Roxane Head Dinkin (Robert), Lisa Head Rodica (Frank), David Randol Head (Kimberly), and Steve Grady Head; nieces, Alexa Rodica Ghaeenzadeh (Dariush) and Ariel Yvonne Head; and nephew, David Michael Rodica; and great-nieces and great-nephews.
Robert lived the life he wanted. He will be remembered for his lifetime creativity and his devotion to preserving the natural environment.
There will be no service.
Please send online condolences by visiting www.WallaceandWallaceFH.com.
Submitted by Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home in Lewisburg.
